Brett Kavanaugh Comes Under Fire at DNC

A video compilation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Attorney General William Barr being questioned by Kamala Harris about their ethics and conduct was shown at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Wednesday night, eliciting cheers and laughter from the audience.
The clip, which incorporates footage from Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing and Barr’s testimony appearing to be stumped by Harris’ questions, is remixed to the beat of American rapper Megan Thee Stallion’s song, Savage.
The video played after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s speech in which he praised Harris, saying, “Attorney generals know a scam when they see it,” and called for ending “the scam of Donald Trump once and for all” by putting Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in the White House.
In the video, Harris asked Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing in 2018, “Have you ever discussed Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller or his investigation with anyone?”
The video then shows Kavanaugh with a confused expression, zooming in on his face and editing the video to show a choppy response of him saying “well” and “um.”
It then pivots to Harris asking Barr, “Has the president [Donald Trump] or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested that you open an investigation of anyone, yes or no please sir.” The video zooms in on Barr’s face as he says, “I don’t know.”
She is also seen pressing Gina Haspel, then-CIA director nominee, and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The compilation then flips back to Kavanaugh’s hearing, with Harris asking, “Can you think of any laws that give the government power to make decisions about the male body?” The music cuts and a long pause ensues between Harris and Kavanaugh.
The comment is in reference to the then-speculation about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a landmark abortion precedent, which was overturned in 2022. Abortion and reproductive health have been a large topic at the convention and in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Attendees started laughing and clapping at the long pause, which Kavanaugh ended by saying, “Uh, um I’m not thinking of any right now.”
The words “She won’t back down neither will we,” flashed across the screen before Kavanaugh stumbled saying, “In my—never mind” to which Harris nodded and said, “Yeah, let’s move on.” It’s unclear what question Kavanaugh was answering in that clip.
The video ends with the words, “Let’s all move on,” and was met with claps and cheers. The Harris campaign posted the video on its official X, formerly Twitter, account.
Newsweek filed out an online contact form with the U.S. Supreme Court for comment on Wednesday night and reached out to Harris’ campaign for comment via email.
Update, 8/21/24 at 9:27 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include the X post of the video.